Vowing not to ‘go back’ to a time with less rights, Black Maine leaders rally for Harris

Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross and other Black elected officials held a rally on the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington to rally support for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid. (Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star)

Black elected leaders in Maine rallied voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic bid for president in Portland’s Monument Square Wednesday on the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.

U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty from Ohio joined Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, local nonprofit leader and writer Shay Stewart-Bouley, Darmita Wilson, a vice president of Northern Light Health, and elected leaders of color, who spoke about the importance of voting in November to protect the freedoms of Black voters.

Talbot Ross (D-Portland) and Beatty spoke about the work the Biden-Harris administration has done for health equity and student loan forgiveness, issues which they said disproportionately impact Black communities across the country. They emphasized Harris’ background as a prosecutor and her promises from the campaign trail to protect reproductive rights and increase gun safety as reasons for the Black community in Maine to get involved in advocating for Harris.

“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s commitment to these ideas resonates throughout our communities,” Talbot Ross said. “And by rallying behind them, standing beside them, we strengthen our collective voice in advocating for policies that advance racial, economic justice, health equity and opportunity for all.”

Beatty told attendees about her history working with Harris and Walz in Congress, and assured Mainers that the Democratic nominees would protect their interests if elected.

“I come today to tell you what’s at stake. That there are definitely in this most consequential election of our lifetime, two different visions,” she said. “A vision of hope and joy and freedom, and a vision of taking us back to our past history, a vision of discrimination.”

Harris’ main challenger, Republican former President Donald Trump, has hitched his campaign to the idea of making America “great again,” romanticizing a period of time when not all Americans had equal rights.

The speakers reflected on the March on Washington, held 61 years ago, and told stories of their family members. Gerald Talbot, speaker Talbot Ross’ father who was the first Black member of the Maine Legislature, sat in the audience.

Talbot Ross and Wilson drew connections between their parents and grandparents, who fought for civil rights, and the current fight to retain social, health and reproductive freedoms for people of color and women.

Portland city councilor Pious Ali encouraged attendees to reach out to voters within their sphere of influence to make sure they vote for Harris, who if elected would be the first woman and woman of color to be President of the United States.

“We are not going back to times when immigrants are put in cages, we are not going back to when people who look like me, people who speak like me, and people who have names that sound like my name, are afraid to go out,” he said.

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